Living and Retiring in Hawaii: The 50th State in the 21st Century [Paperback]

James Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2004

It's perfect for Mainland seniors who have always seen Hawaii as the Paradise to which they might retire. I congratulate you for writing a book that will be of so much help to future Hawaii retirees.-Wm. Carse, Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii at Hilo "Excellent source of information very honest advice"-Bill Taylor, Hawaii Island Journal"All you need to know about retiring in isles is in this book."-Hawaii Tribune HeraldThe average person can retire to Hawaii. How? The answers are found within the pages of Living and Retiring in Hawaii.James R. Smith, Ph.D., and spouse Diane Smith, B.S., detail the options available to émigrés, including:Whether to rent, buy or build and what to look for in a new home.Retirement communities, catered living, and assisted living.Choosing an island-Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Kauai, Molokai or Lanai.Recreation and leisure pursuits.Living and Retiring in Hawaii focuses on the health considerations and lifestyle adjustments that predominantly concern retirees. The Smiths demonstrate how to secure a dream retirement in Hawaii by successfully forecasting cost of living expenses and planning for maximum enjoyment.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James R. Smith, Ph.D., philosopher, writer, arrived from Missouri in 1963. When he left with two degrees from the University of Hawaii, he uttered the now famous words, "I shall return." Co-author and spouse Diane (aka Dianalee), a nice Jewish girl from California, is a humor consultant and standup accountant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (January 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595297358
• ISBN-13: 978-0595297351
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but flawed, February 5, 2006

By 

Marion Fish (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Living and Retiring in Hawaii: The 50th State in the 21st Century (Paperback)

The authors of this book obviously conducted a lot of research and cared a great deal about their subject. As other reviewers have said, it does contain a lot of useful information for someone thinking about retiring to Islands. Unfortunately, however, the book suffers greatly from two serious flaws. First, it is incredibly poorly proofread; it is replete with distracting and annoying spelling and typographical errors. (One wonders what the publisher was doing!) Second, large portions of the book provide information about matters that change very quickly. In particular, the prices cited are already wildly out of date. I think it would be great if the authors, perhaps with some help from an editor, updated the information and cleaned up the text.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hawaii 2000, February 25, 2007

By 

C Chambers - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living and Retiring in Hawaii: The 50th State in the 21st Century (Paperback)

This book is worth reading for people seriously interested in moving to Hawaii for retirement. The authors provide lots of economic data on how much it costs to live in Hawaii but it is accurate for about the year 2000. It is a thoughtful book written like an academic paper (with footnotes all the way to clxxxv!).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of words to say few things, September 4, 2010

By 

Henry C. Wolford - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living and Retiring in Hawaii: The 50th State in the 21st Century (Paperback)

The author(s) tend to say about 200 words for about 50 words of information. We've been researching our retirement (ten years away) for about six years and three vacations to the Big Island. We found a few good tips and some helpful information, those the material is somewhat intentionally generic. I guess the best thing for us was the confirmation our information was correct and our strategy fairly sound. I'd say excellent for someone with no information, less for those who have been researching.